This invention relates generally to a closure means for footwear, and is designed to provide an improvement in the means for attachment for such a closure means to a more flexible form of footwear, such as that utilized in the athletic or casual fields, so as to assure greater conformance of the footwear about the arch of the shoe's wearer during application.
There are a variety of closure means that have been developed in the prior art pertaining to fastening for assuring applications of shoes about the foot of a wearer. For example, the early patent to Lawrence, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,122,810, discloses such a fastening device, incorporating a plate like member having a series of arranged wire members that connect with the upper quarter portion of the footwear, with the plate like member further incorporating wire means for riding upon said first mentioned wire members and attaining closure for the footwear as the said member is pivoted into adjacency against the shoe's upper surface. Various additional and related types of fastening means for shoes can be seen in a variety of earlier U.S. patents, such as that to Forrester, U.S. Pat. No. 2,637,087, an additional patent to Forrester, U.S. Pat. No. 2,987,835, and the further United States patent to the same inventor, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,969,573. Other developments in the art include Rae, U.S. Pat. No. 2,983,019; to Roda, U.S. Pat. No. 3,078,600; to Buchholz, U.S. Pat. No. 2,994,935; to Hawkins, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,059,351; to Mathey, U.S. Pat. No. 3,600,761. In addition, two other patents have issued relating to these type of shoe fastening devices, such as shown in the further patent to Hawkins, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,978,774, and the U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,256, to MacFee. Finally, a United States patent to Labecki, U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,768, upon a shoe fastening device, shows a related type of means for providing closure to footwear.
The principal object of the current invention is to provide means for providing for greater conformance of the upper quarter portions of the shoe, and the footwear closure means, as it secures about the foot of its wearer, so as to provide for a snugger embracement of the shoe about the arch of its wearer, and thereby assure greater wrap around of the shoe about the wearer's foot, while providing a more compact appearance to the closure means in its application to the shoe, while having perhaps a slightly lesser profile due to the draw of the elastic means securing the closure means to the upper approximate edges of the quarter portions of the shoe. In addition, it is submitted that greater comfort is experienced by the athlete when using the structure of this invention when embodied in athletic shoes, particulary when strenuous maneuvers are encountered during participating in an athletic event.